"I would play with only Michael Jordan” - 7-time All-Star names Michael Jordan as his ideal teammate and says he would play with him again
Former Chicago Bulls superstars Michael Jordan and pippen" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Scottie Pippen are widely considered to be the greatest duo in NBA history. But they seem to have a rocky relationship off the court, especially since "The Last Dance" aired.
However, on KTLA Morning News, when Pippen was asked if he would play with Jordan again if he got the chance, his response was unerring:
"Yes! I would play with only Michael Jordan."
The two won six championships and were the constant beside coach Phil Jackson for the Bulls' dominance over the NBA in the 1990s. They formed an incredible duo that dominated the game on both ends of the floor for a long time. They posted an unblemished 6-0 record in the NBA Finals without a single finals series going the distance.
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Scottie Pippen's tiff with Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are considered by many to be the greatest duo in the history of the game. They won six championships together, and neither has won one without the other.
However, after "The Last Dance" came out during the COVID-19 lockdown, their relationship seems to have broken, becoming virtually nonexistent. The relationship supposedly turned sour when the documentary portrayed Pippen in a bad light.
Pippen complained about not being covered enough in the docuseries as he felt he was featured in a less-prominent fashion than Steve Kerr and Dennis Rodman. Pippen felt he wasn't respected enough, despite everything stated in the docuseries being factual.
Soon after, Pippen released a book that conveyed his perspective on things that took place in the 1990s with the Bulls. He essentially called coach Phil Jackson a racist and lambasted Jordan. Pippen said this about Jackson:
"I felt like it was an opportunity to give (Toni Kukoč) a rise. It was a racial move to give him a rise. After all I’ve been through with this organization, now you're gonna tell me to take the ball out and throw it to Toni Kukoč? You’re insulting me."
Former Bulls player Charles Oakley, a close friend of MJ's, said Pippen's comments in his book and subsequent interviews soured the relationship.
The duo have been in contact since their respective retirements. Jordan presented Pippen at the Pippen's Hall of Fame induction in 2010, and Pippen was part of the ceremony during Jordan's induction the previous year.